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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Interior Design in California

8 Ranked Colleges
249 Degrees Awarded
$19,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor's in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 5,693 people earned their degree in interior design, making the major the 158th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 745 interior design graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 249 interior design graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in interior design. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent interior design programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the interior design program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Interior Design Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Interior Design in California

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 30 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB also took the #2 spot in our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree interior design students per year to attend CSULB.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full California State University - Long Beach Interior Design Report

#2

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. San Jose State University is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 33 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at San Jose State, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree interior design students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Interior Design at San Jose State

#3

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree interior design students list, SFSU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree interior design students per year to attend San Francisco State University.

Full SFSU Interior Design Report

#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. This large school is located in Fresno, California, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Fresno State is $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree interior design students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Full California State University - Fresno Interior Design Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #5 spot on the list. Sac State is a large school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 26 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State also took the #5 spot in our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree interior design students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Interior Design at California State University - Sacramento

#6 in overall quality

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out bachelors’s interior design degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

FIDM Los Angeles did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for FIDM Los Angeles is $41,505 for california bachelor’s degree interior design students.

Read more about Interior Design at FIDM Los Angeles

#7

Interior Designers Institute

Newport Beach, California
#8 in overall quality

Interior Designers Institute ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Interior Designers Institute is a small private for-profit school situated in Newport Beach, California. It awarded 28 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

Interior Designers Institute also made our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $29,030 for California Bachelor’s Degree Interior Design students per year to attend Interior Designers Institute.

Full Interior Designers Institute Interior Design Report

#8

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, California
#3 in overall quality

California College of the Arts came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Interior Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 17 bachelors’s interior design degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at California College of the Arts, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Interior Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $33,876 for California Bachelor’s Degree Interior Design students per year to attend California College of the Arts.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full California College of the Arts Interior Design Report

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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